The present invention relates to an article handling apparatus with two fluid actuated drives, and which are controllable independently of each other.
Article handling apparatus are commonly utilized in the fields of engineering and manufacturing, and particularly in connection with robots, by which objects are able to be moved and positioned in one plane. To be able to move an article along any desired path and to guide the article at any desired position, the two drives need to be controllable independently of each other, i.e. by first and second separate control systems. It is obvious that substantial fluid control equipment is necessary for this independent control, since the required fluid lines must be positioned between the source of pressure and the drives and the pertinent control systems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an article handling apparatus of the described type, and which requires minimal fluid equipment, and at the same time is sturdy.